Widely distributed throughout the tropical and warm regions of the world, pelicans are birds of ancient lineage. Large heavy birds, they are not very adept at getting themselves airborne but once this is achieved, they are powerful fliers.

The White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus is found in south-east Europe, Africa and Asia and is typical of most of the species. Thousands of Brown Pelicans Pelecanus occidentalis nest in colonies on the Peruvian coast where their guano, or bird droppings, is collected and used as fertilizer.

Pelicans are superb fishers. Their tactics vary according to species and where they are fishing. The Brown Pelicans drop out of the sky onto the fish, catching them in their enormous pouched bills, which serve as fishing nets. Other species, if fishing in open water, will sometimes gather together some distance from the shore and from themselves into a half-circle. Then, swimming with military precision, they beat the water with their wings to drive the fish shorewards until then simultaneously dip their bills into the water to scoop up the fish, repeating the movement again and again in perfect synchronization.

Most species of pelican nest on the ground, on island or in marshland - wherever the fishing is plentiful. Their nests are roughly put together and the newly hatched chicks are very tiny, only about 3 inches (75 mm) long and quite helpless. Both parents tack on the job of feeding the young until the chicks are strong enough to learn to push their heads into the pouches of the adults to feed themselves.

The valuable guano of the Brown Pelican provides a sound economic reason for its continued protection and its population in most areas is fairly stable. Several of the other species of pelican, however, notably the White Pelican used to be quite widespread in Europe but its range has shrunk to a fraction of what it was a century ago, and the only widespread colonies now are on the Danube Delta. The reason for this decline is that White Pelicans are very vulnerable to disturbance-any human intruders may easily cause a whole colony to desert their nests- and they are also very susceptible to predators. Another factor, possibly the most important, is that the available habitat has declined enormously over the last century; undisturbed marshes and reedbeds and lakes with suitable supplies of fish have disappeared all too rapidly. There are three groups of white swans. The Mute Swan Cygnus olor, which is only found in the Old World and has a bright orange bill, is the Royal Bird of England and other countries in northern Europe and was once served at medieval banquets. The smallest species is known in Europe as Bewick's Swan Cygnus columbianus (after the English naturalist and illustrator), and in North America as the Whistling Swan (because of the sound made by the wings in flight). The largest of the swans is the species known in America as the Trumpeter Swan, and in Europe as the Whooper Swan. As its name suggests, this species is often vocal in flight.